Cigarette Smoke Components are not very Effective in Directly Inactivating α1-Proteinase Inhibitor

Abstract
Smoking predisposes to the development of emphysema by upsetting the .alpha.1-proteinase/inhibitor balance. Cigarette smoke was not effective in inactivating .alpha.1-proteinase inhibitor (.alpha.1-PI) in aqueous solution; a slow inactivation of .alpha.1-PI by a dimethyl sulfoxide extract of whole cigarette smoke condensate was observed. This inactivation could only partially be prevented by antioxidants indicating that it was not, or at least not exclusively, due to oxidation. The bulk of inactive .alpha.1-PI found in lung lavage fluids from smokers was probably generated through endogenous mechanisms and not through smoke components directly.

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